CALIFORNIA FAMILY LAW
...Child Support
......Amount
.........Financial Ability
............Stock Options
3 Cards On This Topic:
  • Court must consider income from all sources when making child support order, including income derived from sale of stock received from exercise of options; children entitled to share in parent’s wealth.
  • Award of % of future exercise of stock options impermissible; % award based on realized income from exercise of options permissible, if court sets max. amount that would not exceed Cs’ needs.
  • Unexercised stock option appreciation, given by employer as part of executive compensation package, should be included in recipient's "gross income" for child support calculation.